Modern weapon systems rely to a great extent on powered missiles. For example, platforms carry a plurality of missiles, which may be of different types. The launchers may be land-based; airborne; marine-based, such as warships; mobile; immobile or man-carried. For convenience, common launchers may be used for these different missile types. Some missiles come from the manufacturer encased in a protective container or canister, at least a part of which becomes part of the launcher. Each missile-bearing canister fits into the common launcher, and has a standardized canister connector by which signals can be transferred between the missile within the canister and the outside world. The canister connector is coded by the manufacturer, by interconnecting or jumpering certain pins, to identify the missile within and to avoid the possibility of human error in programming the missile. The standardized canister connector is connected by a standardized umbilical cable with a launch-control sequencer. Each launch-control sequencer controls the arming and firing of those missiles which are in canisters located in missile launch locations or bays connected to that launch-control sequencer. For example, a launch-control sequencer may be connected to eight launch bays, and thus may be capable of controlling the arming and firing of up to eight missiles. After firing, the bays can be reloaded with new missile canisters.
A central launch control unit, given a command to arm and fire a particular type of missile toward a particular target, provides the commands to a launch-control sequencer associated with a particular group of missile launch locations. In some embodiments the launch control unit and the launch-control sequencer may be collocated in the launcher. As mentioned, the locations may contain different types of missiles. When a missile is to be launched by a launch-control sequencer, the sequencer selects a missile of the type to be launched from among those assigned to it, and, using instructions stored in memory, goes through the appropriate arming sequence. Following the arming sequence, the launch-control sequencer waits for a launch command, and then translates a received launch command, if any, and sends the translated launch command to the selected missile.
Although the aforementioned configuration has been found effective, skilled artisans will appreciate that weapons, such as missiles, require large amounts of data—between 20 to 60 Mbs or more—before a launch sequence can be completed. Typically, this large amount of data consists of targeting data, software updates and other essential information to allow the weapon to perform its mission. Transferring this bulk data from the weapon launcher to the weapon is one of the perennial problems that each generation of weapon launcher designers must solve. The solution is partly dictated by the weapon design. Originally, it was solved by transferring the data on serial lines and, as such, hi-speed Ethernet communications are the favored method for modern weapon systems. Even though the physical interface has improved over the years, the basic data transfer method is still the same. The launcher offers the weapon a packet of information and the weapon accepts and acknowledges the information. Newer message transfer protocols and methods include encryption and generalize the data transfers and accommodate ever-larger amounts of data, but the offer/acknowledgement model is still the basis for passing bulk data between launchers and their associated weapons.
It will further be appreciated that the launcher may be used with a number of different weapon types. As such, each new weapon has its own specific data requirements. Establishing a working protocol for each new weapon type adds time and cost to the overall weapon system. Such configurations require the use of “middleware” to transfer and move bulk data between the weapon and the launcher. As used herein, middleware refers to software which integrates the independently operating components of a software system. Although the use of high-speed Ethernet data transfer protocols help, such configurations are still found lacking. Fast and secure data transfer is especially critical in combat situations. The use of data offer/acknowledgement protocols has several disadvantages. First, it requires the launcher to have fairly intimate knowledge of the weapon's data requirements. In software engineering terms, the launcher and the weapon are closely coupled. The launcher must know what data the weapon needs and when, and it must also know how the weapon needs its data formatted. Close coupling is very detrimental to a system in that it dramatically increases the cost of system development and maintenance. Additionally, such coupling severely limits the possibilities of expanding a system by scaling it up or down and/or by adding support for new missile types. Additionally, the overhead of repeated packet offers and acknowledgments consumes a substantial percentage of a data channel's effective throughput. Finally, delivering the data piece-meal to multiple weapons simultaneously, as during a ripple-fire scenario, puts a substantial coordination burden on the launcher. The data transfers must be interleaved in a coordinated fashion so that each weapon receives its correct data in the correct order at the correct time.
As is well understood in the art, weapon launcher systems and the associated weapons are networked applications which utilize “network protocol stacks” to perform their communications. Skilled artisans will appreciate that a protocol stack is generally a prescribed hierarchy of software layers, starting from an application layer at the top (the source of the data being sent) to a data link layer at the bottom (transmitting the bits or data on a wire or wireless communication system). The stack resides in each client and server, and the layered approach lets different protocols be swapped in and out to accommodate network architectures. An exemplary protocol stack may be based on the Open Systems Interconnection reference model which utilizes media layers and host layers, wherein the media layers typically comprise a physical, data link and network layer and the host layers comprise a transport, a session, a presentation and an application layer. Skilled artisans will further appreciate that the application layer relates to the network application configuration which is closest to the end user and that the physical layer is where the media is configured in a signal or binary configuration that is transmitted between the networks. Each layer of the stack implements some sort of function and the next level up builds on these functions to provide more robust and complex functions. The higher one goes up the stack, the more complex and time consuming, albeit more capable, these functions are.
In the prior art configurations of the weapon launcher scenarios set out above, the traditional data passing uses “control applications” at the highest level which requires more networking overhead than the software utilized at layers lower in the network stack.
Based upon the foregoing, it will be appreciated then that there is a need in the art for a fast, reliable way to transfer data between a launcher and weapon system so as to improve the response time of the weapon and provide for more reliable data transfer between the two systems.